Best Buy Sold Out Of BlackBerry PlayBook Tablets After $300 Discount

We’re not sure if this is a sign of a resurgence for BlackBerry and Research In Motion, or just another sign of desperation: Best Buy says it sold out of the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet over the weekend — but only after a $300 drop in price.

In a Black Friday promotion at Best Buy, the 7-inch tablets went for $199 for 16GB instead of $499 and the 32GB sold for $299, down from $599. CNET says Best Buy confirmed that it had sold out of the tablets, and would get additional units “in the near future.”

The news of the tablet’s newfound popularity could be an explanation for the odd behavior over the weekend. Some customers said their online orders were canceled, and the tablet was removed from the site. The only versions currently for sale online at Best Buy’s site are refurbished models, which led to rumors that Best Buy would drop the PlayBook. The retailer has denied it will do so.

Sales will do funny things to people, as originally the PlayBook was met with some frustration over the fact that it doesn’t currently run BlackBerry’s e-mail, calendar and message service. An interesting move, as those are the features that keep many BlackBerry users loyal, even as RIM falters amidst outages and other setbacks.